Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifiers and stabilisers.
Examples include: (E number food additive code)
- Agar (E406), obtained from seaweed
- Alginic acid (E400), from seaweed
- Beta-glucan, from oat or barley bran
- Carrageenan (E407), from seaweed
- Chicle gum, an older base for chewing gum obtained from the chicle tree
- Dammar gum, from the sap of Dipterocarpaceae trees
- Gellan gum (E418), produced by bacterial fermentation
- Glucomannan (E425), from the konjac plant
- Guar gum (E412), from guar beans
- Gum arabic (E414), from the sap of Acacia trees
- Gum ghatti, from the sap of Anogeissus trees
- Gum tragacanth (E413), from the sap of Astragalus shrubs
- Karaya gum (E416), from the sap of Sterculia trees
- Locust bean gum (E410), from the seeds of the carob tree
- Mastic gum, a chewing gum from ancient Greece obtained from the mastic tree
- Psyllium seed husks, from the Plantago plant
- Sodium alginate (E401), from seaweed
- Spruce gum, a chewing gum of American Indians obtained from spruce trees
- Tara gum (E417), from the seeds of the tara tree
- Xanthan gum (E415), produced by bacterial fermentation
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